Rep. McMorris Rodgers Disputes 'No Obamacare Repeal' Story

Days after a headline in her hometown newspaper reported that Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers said Obamacare would not be repealed, the vice chairwoman of the House Republican Conference vigorously disputed those sentiments attributed to her and underscored her commitment to repeal.

"The congresswoman does not write headlines," a spokeswoman for McMorris Rodgers, a Washington state Republican, told Newsmax on Monday.

She was referring to an April 25 headline in the Spokesman-Review, a newspaper in Spokane, which blared: "McMorris Rodgers Says ACA Likely to Stay," referring to the Affordable Care Act, the formal name for Obamacare.

"It is important to read the article, which was based on an editorial board meeting with the Spokesman-Review," McMorris Rodgers' spokeswoman said. She emphasized that the congresswoman never said the statement in the headline, or a statement within the article claiming McMorris Rodgers "said it's unlikely the Affordable Care Act will be repealed."

Both the headline and the statement were paraphrased and not quoted, she said. A reading of the article shows that neither is attributed directly to McMorris Rodgers.

"As was made abundantly clear in the interview, the congresswoman believes Obamacare's government-centered, one-size-fits-all approach is not working and will never work on multiple fronts, which is why she has voted numerous times to repeal it and will continue to work to repeal it at every opportunity," the spokeswoman said.

"Until the president and Democrats in Congress join Republicans in fully repealing this unworkable law, her mission is to continue protecting as many Americans as possible from its harmful effects until it is dismantled and replaced with needed reforms focused on patient-centered healthcare."

John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax.